Home Depot Closes All Its Stores In China; 850 Layoffs

ATLANTA -- The Home Depot closed its seven big box stores in China, laying off 850 employees, who will receive severance packages and job placement assistance.

In December 2006, The Home Depot acquired The Home Way, China’s first “big box” home improvement retailer. It eventually expanded to seven stores, which averaged 90,000 square feet, in three cities in China.

An after-tax charge of $160 million will be taken in the third quarter for impairment of goodwill and other assets; Home Depot reported $70.4 billion in revenue last year, and $3.9 billion in earnings. The stores were operating for six years.